Brahms - Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118 No. 2 (Stephen Kovacevich) - 1981
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118 No. 2 - Intermezzo in A Major (Andante teneramente) (Stephen Kovacevich) (1981)
There are some errors in the score I got from Mutopia Project (I don't have a scanner to scan my copy) and I don't know the existence of IMSLP at that time. For a correct version of the score, please head to IMSLP and search for Brahms Intermezzo Op. 118.
** To all the too fast comments, the tempo marking is Adante teneramente - not Largo. To me this is just right as Andante should be. Thank you. **
I used to listen to this all the time at the Toluca Lakeview Hotel with my wife Mary.
Same here, before she died of that damn disease 3 yrs ago...
Too bad that place burned down and flooded a while back.
Looooool 😂
just put this on after finding the sheet and it fits perfectly while chasing laura and dealing with the mf enemies
@@n3zum1ME RN BROOOOOOO
Welcome to the Lakeview Hotel
They said her name is Sunderland?
U already know it
Yes . He left the piano sheet on the table
Haha we meet again just like vers la flamme
Yeaaah i am already here! just found the musical note.
I am scared already but after going through all these previous levels, i think i am ready for everything Lol.
Every time I listen to this I think of our special place by the lake....
Ahhh yesss ❤❤
I came here at 2 AM because I simply saw it at the Lake View Hotel in Silent Hill And I think I’m not the only one.
lol 😅If you saw this, congratulations! You’ve reached the end of the game.
Close to the end its still not over yet
But still we are not at the end-end i pressume XDD
Silent Hill 2 brought me here, such a beautiful piece ♡
Watching a Jesse Stone movie with my wife, I heard this achingly beautiful piano music as Stone sat in his home. I had to hear the whole thing; a little research disclosed that the song was this Brahms intermezzo. I have listened to it many times, and I am often moved to tears. My wife died of cancer five years ago. I always think of her when I hear this sweet song. Thank you, Johannes Brahms.
I'm so very sorry for the loss of your wife. I could never imagine that type of loss. Brahms definitely has a way of soothing the soul. I hope his music helps you in times of need 🙏
I am sorry for loss💕. I hope now you are happy wherever you are. And always remember that ur wife is in a place much better and is happy and all she wants you is to be happy for her until you meet her again. Sending you my positive energy❤ May she rest in peace.
I dont think anyone gets brahms til they are older or have suffered
❤️
We too first heard it watching that same Jessie Stone episode. I had to play it, and
I searched and listened and practiced and finally it was like touching eternity. And
there's always some nuance to discover. It has helped me move from fast and showy
to soft and velvety tones. What a gift that chance find has been. At 80, I'm so grateful
that I found it just in time.
Brahms must have been a beautiful human being to write something this glorious
He ravaged composers like Liszt and Wagner publicly due to jealousy
Franz Liszt-Chopin how do you know it’s “jealousy”, not artistic differences. It’s normal for composers to criticize each other. Wagner himself publicly criticized Mendelssohn and Brahms.
@@yihanwu1126 Liszt criticised nobody, aside from a few fleeting remarks about Thalberg in a duel. He understood the true meaning of a composer, and didn't let petty jealously disparage new music of his era. Other composers didn't have the same moral code.
He was quite grumpy, there are so many anecdotes where he is told to be mean to someone, sleeping during Liszt playing his sonata, wearing ties as belts on important occasions, leaving a place saying "and if I didn't insult someone, I apologize to him!", and similar, all of them quite hilarious.
But to write some beautiful music like his, he must've been a pretty sensible man.
So ig I look like yoda lol
Listening to this lovely piano music moves me to tears. I can't explain it, but I always feel good when I listen to this soothing music. Thank you, Johannes Brahms. Your music is so wonderful
Time for some confession: I've never been able to understand Brahms, there, I've said it! But I have to say, this piece goes a long way to giving me a glimpse into his soul. Of all the major composers, Brahms has been the most elusive to me. But this piece is a start...
I respect your view. On my part, I haven’t appreciated Beethoven in all his works. Brahms for that matter came rather natural to me, but without having encountered favourite pieces like the 2nd movt of the violin concerto and the 4th movt of Symphony No. 1, I wouldn’t know where I would be. I hope you start to like his compositions.
Brahms is/was a FAR, FAR more thoughtful, reflective, nostalgic, sensitive, emotional sort of person than most people realize... Esp. the thoughtful, ponderous, poignant/DEEP feeling sorts of qualities... Its just that he tended to never SHOW these sorts of emotions in public, or very rarely. (The more poker faced German facial features/expressions, etc.) You hear his Hungarian Dances, and they are brisk and lively, etc. But they are not really straight from his heart, though I'm sure that they were fun to write/play, etc. And Brahms really had no patience for music with weaker melodies, too much ornamentations and non-melodic stuff, etc. (He wasn't too crazy about Liszt, etc.) But yeah, Symphony #1 4th Mvmt., the Intermezzo in A, etc., these sorts of pieces do give you little glimpses into the soul of Brahms, who, although he had the absolute highest admiration for Beethoven, was prob. more of a sensitive or slightly reserved type than Beethoven in some respects... 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
I guess Im randomly asking but does someone know a tool to log back into an instagram account??
I stupidly lost the password. I would love any assistance you can offer me!
@Blaze Marshall instablaster ;)
2nd movement, 2nd Piano concerto - that’s him
Solo una persona altamente sensibile può scrivere una musica tanto dolce e toccante il cuore. I love Brahms da sempre e per sempre.
This piece is underrated ! It’s a masterpiece and it’s so beautiful! Thank you Brahms for writing such a piece, you’re awesome !
Yes it's a masterpiece but no it's not underrated.
Kinda cool to see the same names I saw in the previous music videos, watching us all progress through silent hill 2
No one Should Disrespect Such Masterpieces.
Ever.
Simply stunning. I am moved to tears....
I didn't understand Brahms until I heard his Intermezzo. Have you ever imagined the end of the universe? Well, Brahms, Rachamaninoff, and Chopin knew it. They composed in a very dark place but full of love. A place, there at the end, where the light has not yet arrived. They came, took the greatest love and died. Geniuses for ever and ever.
Beautifully said. Thanks.
I love this comment!
brahms yes, chopin Rachmaninoff mehhh
@@stravinskyfan hahaha someone named stravinskyfan saying that Rachmaninoff is "meh" is extraordinarily amusing
@@brians9508 not hard to amuse you
Sometimes several years pass before I hear the great Intermezzo. It never fails to fold its arms around me, entrance me, make me understand more of my humanity
I have been playing this piece since 1977. My college teacher gave it to me, and I finally understood what music was about! This sealed my love for Brahms (which eventually got me to a conversation with the great Andre Watts, RIP). There are some very nice things in this reading.
Have you recorded it for us to hear? I’ve just heard it the first time and straight away ordered the music which I found in a marvellous book of 65 classical pieces for less than a tenner. Of which there’s two volumes so I got both. (Many repeats I already have of course but many more others I do not. This is one of those)
@@FoxyJohn I have not yet, but perhaps I will!
@@juditherwinneville7797 yes please do and let me know when. I’d like to hear you play it!
I love this performance. The tempo is perfect to me, the passion at 2:59 is perfect. Just captures all the moods.
As an old accomplished pianist of over 70 years,if someone doesn’t understand Brahms they should have a second attempt at another 5:11 frontal lobotomy. I still cry when I listen to this. This will be played at my memorial service.
I use to volunteer through a catholic church, St.Malachy on 49th st. in NYC, to visit and sit with the elderly to keep them company. I was assigned to an ex Opera singer from The Met who suffered from Agoraphobia. I would go on Sundays. He would have the radio playing on the classical channel to create a pleasant atmosphere. 6 piano pieces by Brahms played one day, and I was absolutely swept away by this Intermezzo 118!!! I had the same internal effect with Romanze 118 which is a part of the suite ( I highly recommend a listen).
Anyway, this Intermezzo was one of the many amazing gifts I received by volunteering my time and energy to needy souls. I think fondly of him in a sad way every time I hear this beautiful piece. That was May 2010 on the upper west side, in NYC. The 4:08-4:31 section grips my soul every time throughout this piece. 🙏🏽🔥✨️
Brahms was perfect. Never a note more, never a note less. This piece is incredibly beautiful
Brahms words: Most difficult in music is to remove the bad notes
3:50 That chromatic descent into the harmonic resolve at 3:57 is just so good. The resolve is quite Rachmaninov-esque, but then is followed by something very Brahms-y and more classical sounding.
One of the best interpretations I've heard of this Intermezzo. Bravo Mr. Kovacevich!
There are so many fine recordings of this longing, delicate, aching, melancholy music, one of Brahms's most beautiful creations. Stephen Kovacevich's is my favorite though. Thank you for posting it.
+Steve Berlin You're most welcome. Kovacevich's is my favourite also. Fell in love with this piece immediately first time when I heard Kovacevich plays it.
Totally agree ! From bar 64 is incredible how he remark the inner voices with such an elegance and perfect control of rubato. I bought the cd more than 20 years ago. The sound is incredible. Thank you. best regards
Kovacevich is also my favorite interpreter of Brahms piano music. Thoughtful, well-considered.
Steve Berlin please see rubinstein and gould .. my preferred
I affectionately refer to this piece as “THE intermezzo” because it holds such a place in my heart. (It confuses a lot of colleagues that don’t know me as well, though.) It reflects a period of deep love and painful loss that affected me greatly and I still come back to listen.
hooray for brahms!
The other intermezzos in op 118 are awesome too
In my restless dreams I hear that song... Intermezzo. You promised me we could listen to it again someday but we never did. I'm here alone now listening to it waiting for you in our special place.
In my older years I"ve come to know and love all Brahms; piano pieces. he really is one of the great romantics. Heartfelt genuine emotions, and so wonderfully eloquent.
This is a marvelous performance because all I hear is Brahms. Thank you Stephen Kovacevich, for removing yourself in this presentation. You are a great pianist.
This piece is just heavenly! I really like to follow the music as I'm listening so thank you for posting this video :)
+Joe Flanagan Glad you like this. This piece is one that I love most of all Brahms' works that I know.
Can be f
Perform more colorful , and rubato, more expressively..
Beautiful. Just beautiful. My friend and former mentor played this days before dying of brain cancer.
I’m so sorry for your loss, I hope you’re doing well❤️
@@Dirtluvr3779 Not so well. He was my friend, former mentor and the very first performer of my four concert etudes, which I now have recorded. I am devastated by his demise. But I thank you so much for your words. Marco Giovanetti playing my concert etude Nr.2: gabykappsclassicalcontemporarycomposer.bandcamp.com/track/concert-etude-for-solo-piano-in-d-minor-diluvium He was a marvellous artist.
❤
My harmony teacher told me the story of this piece while she was playing it. She said that Branhms was in love with his teacher's wife Clara Schumann, but it was a forbidden love and one-way, that's why we can feel in the piece that sometimes he's fine but then no.
@Aurieljo he was in love with his teacher's wife*
My piano teacher told me the same thing when i started some brahms! Although he only said that Schumann was his friend, not his teacher
@@Aurieljowhat a silly comment
@@TodayAllNews I understand that for you cheating is not terrible..
@@TodayAllNews Or because it's Brahms then that makes it a legit thing?
@LaughingStock55 You sound cynical.. It's interesting to see that the simplest thing for other people is not obvious. Loyalty to the relationship. This is what the discussion is about.
I actually really like the tempo in this, I'm sually picky when it comes to tempo, because it's really important especially in piano music to put emphasis on certain harmonies and lines in music, and tempo works as a tool to convey that feeling and emotion that the composer intended the piece to have when performed. This is a lovely piece... so romantic and sad at the same time. Wonderful performance, played with feeling. Thank you so much for uploading, I am your humble subscriber :)
One of the best recordings/performances of this elusive piece...Kovacevich, Lupu, Perahia and (of course), Wilhelm Kempff, all have the heart for this...
I don't know why but the part that starts at 1:58 always makes me think of falling snow.
Agreeed! I’m obsessed with the part which starts at 1:58. It’s nice to meet someone who likes the same piece of a great puzzle.
Or falling autumn leaves for me….
Just love the score flipping for me every few bars - great job ... thank you for putting the work in - really appreciated.
Ohhh how can I forget that beautifull dinner with my Mary in the Hotel Lakeview
Playing this in a concert today, this recording helped me re-think especially 2:56
LanYarD It’s hard to pick with melody to bring out. Is the top part the icing on the cake? Or does it deserve its own emphasis. I wonder how Brahms would have played it.
@@amandawatts2223 yea its soo interesting
4:22 If you listen from here you can sense the piece is coming to an end, the transition out of the pieces is SO GOOD
Linda música, obrigado por me fazer encontrar isso Laura
I think that Mr Kovacevich is the finest of all interpreters of Brahms - and of late Beethoven, for that matter. Thank you for posting this.
This music takes me back to one day I spent the whole morning rowing. There was a lot of fog you could barely see a light
Listening to this reminds me the good time by the lake…
In my restless dreams I see that town
There is no way to hold your emotions back with Brahms! Eternal!
INDEED!!!!!! I wonder if "intermezzo" (ie, in the middle) had anything to do with Robert & Clara Schumann...
Who knows...but I think that Brahms was holding his emotions back.
@@zuzanaSimurdova He was a very emotional guy.......... but he managed to keep it all together somehow.... to compose and love Clara and her family and help with Robert when he got sick..........
This Brahms Intermezzo is one of the the example how Love taste . Soooo clear absolutely clean and free
Beautifully rendered. My heart is touched.
This piece makes my soul fly! Thanks Kovacevich, thanks Brahms, THANKS GOD!!!
All I want to do is play this over and over again. I love this Intermezzo no 2
One the most beautiful pieces by Brahms - this is what the Portuguese feel as their "saudade" the longing,aching,melancholy,nostalgia and the sadness...
Totally agree. :-)
it wasn't intended to be attached to a particular emotion however - it was written as absolute music - or music for music's sake - beautiful piece full of feeling yet no particular emotion
@@harrysargent9889 That's nonsense. Being absolute music means it's not programmatic, not that it's devoid of emotion. It's obviously romantic music.
Actually its major so it should sound "happy"
lalala like this Many major songs don’t sound happy.
This piece is so deep and I love it.
A lovely performance. Congratulations! And I agree with you about the tempo... not largo, but andante. Playing it much slower turns the “teneramente” into schmalz! I wonder if Brahms was thinking about Clara when he wrote this...
I love Brahms, he is a wonderful composer.
This reminds me of the summer nights i spent playing minecraft with my friends, boy i sure miss those guys...
How ?
Go out and find them! Play Minecraft with them again! It is never too late for friendship, as long as you are willing. That being said...something's are better left as a memory. It is up to you to decide my friend. One last thing, if you do choose to take the risk don't let the present steal the past from you ok? Don't let it. The past is yours forever unless you let it be taken from you and ruined. This might not make much sense, and for that I apologise. I cannot contain my rambling nature. Good luck.
Lottie X ok
@@TiLuVa12 😘😉🤠🌵🐴🌛🌜🤸
Silent hill 2 is art and so is this song.
Where Vers la flamme was chaotic this is pleasent to the ears.
The harmony between 2:56 and 3:06 is exquisite.
I hear what you mean.
It’s actually not that complicated it’s just written beautifully
@@extras5164it’s just 2 or rather 4 against 3
Surely you meant between 0:00 and 5:11?
Yes! Absolutely marvelous!
Beautiful song. I heard it played by a little girl. She stepped on my hand and hated me but damn could she play.
So, I'm going to say it: There once was a time where I didn't think much of Brahms. That time was pretty intriguing, and strange for me and my life. However, after having listened to his later works (partucularly his Clarinet sonata in Eb from the op. 120 set), I became somewhat enamoured. However, I needed more. It was after listening to his piano works and symphonies that I began to truly understand his works and their meaning. Finally, I came across this piece and I truly have been cemented in my love for Brahms.
Brahms is incapable of making music. The love for him comes through decades of dogma, and hundreds of deluded listeners, who listened attentively """"with an open mind"""" to his noise.
@Whatismusic123 Well then, agree to disagree.
Silent Hill 2 Remake me trajo hasta aquí 🇲🇽
Stunning, my favorite part would have to be 3:00❤️
가을되면 무조건 듣는 브람스~
오늘처럼 흐리거나 비오는 날에도 잘 녹아드는 음악이죠.
Through his life, Brahms had a correspondence with Clara Schumann that was what can only be called a love affair in thoughts and words. They've been published and they are beautiful glimpses of life and process. Brahms writes about opus 118 and it's clear that she is very much in his mind at the time he wrote this.
She was married to Robert Schumann, Brahms was very close. They shared a world that was theirs in and through music.
My understanding from my piano teacher when I was learning this in my teens is that the melody is a series of “I Love You” over and over again.
True or not, once you hear it in these three-note melodies, you’ll never hear anything but.
@@Chickibidi What a beautiful way to learn about motif and a really nice story. Though it's unlikely to be true because those words, when spoken in German, Brahms' (and Clara's) native language would not work.
Well the important thing is the message is there, in a universal language, and that speaks loud and clear.
Thank you for your explanation!
E' tra le più belle esecuzioni di questo intermezzo!
I can't wait to learn this beautiful piece!
It's very satisfying :-)
Impresionante interpretación.!!!!
Это божественно! Благодарю ❤
Yes this hauntingly beautiful melody I heard in a Jesse Stone movie. It took me a while to find it. I play it often. Always so wistful
This is a very expressive interpretation. Me likey.
I LOVE THIS INTERMEZZO. IT IS LIKE A PIECE OF TREASURE IN MY HEART NEXT TO THE HOLY GHOST.
I was looking for a video of this with the notation displayed so l could satisfy myself on how Brahms created the implied metric modulation in spots and was enormously happy to find this one which happens to feature my all time favorite recording of the piece.
If you're reading this, congratulations on making this far through this scary ass game
I became very interested in the music Jesse Stone played at his home in that series... now, I just love listening to this.
Happy Birthday Brahms. This a favorite piece-as another listener said it sounds like a crying broken heart.
This one is breath taking
She said: How are you?...Where are you? ...There seemed no answer but he answered quietly in his heart: ...I love you... He was always there and never left. But she didn’t know and would never know.
Wonderful!
Had to sell off all my Brahms sheet music, but always loved teaching/playing the Intermezzi. Never again.
Why did you have to sell your music!?
this is like a "poem"...it's just sooooo peaceful and lovely ~ ♥
An amazing song! Like a few others, I first heard this in the Jesse Stone series. Incredible emotional transitions through the piece. Brahms is remarkable!!
Это прекрасно...❤
1:56 is probably some of my favorite writing from brahms
I like his piano pieces, very personal and unique, some are dance- or scherzo-like (such as the Capriccios) and others are full of emotion and lyrical, just like this piece.
I played one of his intermezzi in A minor (Op.76 no.7) for my LTCL Pianoforte exam - thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a slow piece with a suppressive melancholic mood.
I wish one day I would be able to play all of his miniature piano pieces.
in my restless dreams i see that town, silent hill.
This music takes me away to my childhood.
This is the gem of the collection to me. Like a dream.
Better than perfection.
You know why you're here. I know why you're here. You know why I'm here.
Silent hill.
Edit: For my ARSM exam too :)
For a college music theory assignment of course!
I'm here for the 2nd inversion on the first downbeat.
Merveilleux très belle interprétation merci beaucoup stephen
So beautifully played!
Beautiful piece + great pianist = BLISS
My favourite piano piece :)
Thanks for calming my soul Brahms! The sound of muzak
A masterpiece. I adore things in triple time 🌟 ~ Gen
Wow what a beautiful piano piece
I'm in love with this masterpiece from Brahms.❤
James and Mary Sunderland of SH2 at the Toluca Lakeview Hotel.
My favourite works by this pianist composer were ironically the violin concerto and violin sonatas. That was before I got to know this intermezzo.
This is just beautiful.
Just sublime.
This piece transcends and soothes us especially in this difficult time .
This song was mentioned in a book i recently finished. A Strange Sweet Song. Its a wonderful book and this piece is 'played' in it. Wanting to know what it was i went to find it and it fits the situation in the book so well and it made me cry. Thank you so much!!!!!
Kitten Gamer7017 what is the book about??
정말정말 아름답다ㅠㅠ 가을과 잘 어울리고..찬바람나면 역시 브람스